“There is an opportunity cost for everything we do. This is why we must have awareness to ensure that what value we are pursuing is really what we value, because the pursuit leaves countless lost opportunities in its wake. We choose one experience at the sacrifice of all other experiences.” -Chris Matakas When choosing what to pursue in our lives, it is important to think about the concept of opportunity costs. An opportunity cost is everything else you are giving up in order

“Guilt is just as powerful, but its influence is positive, while shame's is destructive. Shame erodes our courage and fuels disengagement.” -Brene Brown I have read a lot about “clean fuel” versus “dirty fuel” when exploring motivations for why humans behave as we do. The interesting thing is that they are often near the same zip code within us. For example, in the quote above, guilt is not very far from shame in our minds but the way we respond is very different. With guilt,

“Desire is the key to motivation, but its determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” -Mario Andretti Commitment can be difficult for humans because it requires effort over an extended period of time. It is often easy for people to start a new project or set a new goal, but the follow through is often lacking. Think about New Year’s resolutions. They are easy to set, t

“The ability to recognize opportunities and move in new - and sometimes unexpected - directions will benefit you no matter your interests or aspirations.” -Drew Gilpin Faust When I work with leaders, a lot of times we need to plan for the future. By planning, it allows us to continually work toward desired outcomes instead of being a passenger along for the ride. However, what happens if we are too rigid in our commitment toward one outcome? In life, I have noticed that there

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” -Oscar Wilde You don’t always know the power of a smile or a kind word, but those small gestures can make the biggest difference. Often times as we walk past others on the street or even in a hallway in our building, we don’t see the full weight of the burdens they are carrying. We don’t truly know how hurt they are or even if they have given up hope. And that is why a smile or showing someone appreciation can

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” -Rabindranath Tagore Today in class we talked about sales and service. The key to good sales is that it is focused on service. When you offer something to someone that they need, you are doing it right. However, if you offer products because of quotas or other selfish reasons, you are doing it wrong. This concept applies to so much in life though. When humans do

“The people you surround yourself with influence your behaviors, so choose friends who have healthy habits.” -Dan Buettner I was working with bankers with the Illinois Bankers Association this week. Many of my leadership classes can have a serious tone because of the subject material. However, the bankers I worked with were an incredible group of bankers that made it very fun. So today is all about recognizing the impact of the people around you on your performance and outcom

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” -Albert Einstein I have been thinking about the question, “What makes a place worth fighting for while others are readily abandoned?” You will have to forgive the history teacher in me for a moment as I explain, but I will tie it back to work and why this is so important to think about as a team player or organizational leader. Ancient ruins fascinate me so during our recent vacation my wife and I visited several of the

“Love is the most powerful force in business.” -Marcus Buckingham I am currently on a vacation celebrating my 15-year anniversary and I have been reading a book called “Design Love In” by Marcus Buckingham. I learned about this book on The Learning Leader podcast with Ryan Hawk and had to look into it. The premise of the book is simple, but so powerful. It starts with the question, “How do we design more of our experiences to bring love into the equation instead of designing

“When choosing what you want to do with your life, don’t do what you think you will be highly rewarded for. Choose what you would be willing to do even when you are not rewarded for it. That is a secret for living a fulfilling life.” -Omony Geoffrey Ocaya An important lesson in life is that you can’t just pursue a career that is solely about profit. If you do that, you may find the wealth you are pushing for but will also realize that there was a huge cost to it along the way

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” -Samuel Beckett When building effective teams and creating positive outcomes for organizations, we often overlook the impact of failure. You see, many of us view failure as the enemy or something to be avoided. However, failure is often just the first step towards progress. Think about it. How many inventions do we use that were not the first attempt at the product but the result of trial and error? Or

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” -Heraclitus This quote was on my mind this week as I have been thinking about coaching team members and developing growth plans for them. Rivers are in constant motion. They are ever changing and never stop moving forward unless acted on by an outside force. This is a great image that aligns with growth for people. We can constantly change and better ourselves as long as we con

“Camaraderie doesn’t happen by accident; developing a strong sense of trust, accountability, and togetherness around team goals requires intentional effort.” -Don Yaeger This week a lot of my conversations have circled back to the word intentionality. Especially in relation to goals. So often we set a goal, or our team has a goal, yet we don’t approach accomplishing the goal with intentionality. Please note that I am not blaming any leaders for this issue when I point it out

“I think consistency comes with hard work and execution really. You’ve got to be able to do it every day.” -Mac Jones In class the other day, we were talking about trust. A big part of building trust is the ability to be consistent. When people know what to expect from you, they can be more open and honest. However, being consistent is hard. It isn’t easy to show up every day and give your best effort. In fact, there may be some days where you are tired, have a lot of other

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” -Mahatma Gandhi In class this week, we discussed the ability to empower your team. Part of that empowerment is knowing when you allow them to make decisions that the team will make mistakes at some point. However, if you immediately jump to phrases like, “Why did you do that?” or “What were you thinking?” You are shutting down your team's desire to make decisions. So many leaders say they are e

“Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.” -Confucius I was recently looking at the topic of resume virtues versus eulogy virtues. The difference between them is focused on intent. With resume virtues, we are presenting something that we want the world to see. They don’t have to be deeply held values, but what we want others to believe. In that way, they function like a mask. A mask is worn for many reasons, but all of them obscure seeing the face beneath. In much th

“Culture is not an initiative. Culture is the enabler of all initiatives.” -Larry Senn We were discussing culture during class the other day and it was important for the group to understand that everyone plays a role in culture building. The leader may set the direction for the culture of the group, but until everyone is living out the values that culture doesn’t exist. This was also an opportunity to show them that “leader” does not mean the person with the biggest title. Of

“If you're always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you're in? Slow down and enjoy the moment you're in and live your life to the fullest.” -Nanette Mathews Last week I was visiting Oklahoma and right after getting back from dinner, the tornado sirens started going off. Not being from the area, I headed down to the lobby, and the staff seemed to be very calm. Several of us had ventured out of our rooms to make sure everything was okay. Then the staff started

“Your competition is not other people but the time you kill, the ill will you create, the knowledge you neglect to learn, the connections you fail to build, the health you sacrifice along the path, your inability to generate ideas, the people around you who don't support and love your efforts, and whatever god you curse for your bad luck.” -James Altucher A concept we discussed in class this week is the danger of comparison. We explored how it is very hard to be focused on yo

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerless